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September 20
1800s 1900s *1902 - Nixey Callahan of the Chicago White Sox pitches the first no-hitter in franchise history as he defeats the Detroit Tigers 2–0. *1905 - Chicago White Sox president Charles Comiskey orders a houseboat built for the express purpose of transporting and housing the team during spring training. *1907 - Nick Maddox of the Pittsburgh Pirates no-hits the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2–1. At the age of 20 years and ten months, Maddox becomes (and still is) the youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the major leagues. *1908 - Frank Smith of the Chicago White Sox throws his second career no-hitter for a 1–0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics. 1910s *1919 - On Babe Ruth day at Fenway Park, the Bambino ties Ned Williamson's major league mark of 27 home runs in a season with a game-winner off Lefty Williams of the Chicago White Sox. Ruth also scores the winning run in both ends of the doubleheader. Ironically, it will be the last game he plays for the Boston Red Sox in Fenway. Four days later he will hit number 28 over the roof of the Polo Grounds. 1920s *1922 - Rogers Hornsby is stopped by Burleigh Grimes of Brooklyn after hitting in 33 straight games. *1924 - At age 37, Grover Cleveland Alexander wins his 300th game as the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Giants 7-3 in 12 innings. He will finish with 373 victories during his 20-year career. *1927 - Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hits his 60th home run of the season, breaking the record he set in 1921. Ruth homers off Washington Senators pitcher Tom Zachary. 1930 *1931 - Lou Gehrig drives in four runs to break his old AL RBI mark of 175, set in 1927. By the season's end he will have a total of 184. 1940s 1950s *1951 - The owners elect NL President Ford Frick as the third baseball commissioner for a seven-year term at $65,000 per annum. *1953 - Second baseman Gene Baker, the other half of the Kansas City Monarchs double play duo along with shortstop Ernie Banks, joins his former Negro League teammate making his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs. Ernie hits his first major league home run against Gerry Staley, but the St. Louis Cardinals win 11-6. In 19611, Baker will be named manager of the minor league Batavia, New York team, becoming the first black manager in organized baseball. *1955 - New York Giants slugger Willie Mays hits two home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving him 50 for the year and making him the seventh player in major league history to accomplish this. *1958 - Recently acquired Orioles knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm pitches a 1-0 no-hitter against the New York Yankees at Memorial Stadium, with the only run coming on a home run by battery mate Gus Triandos. It will be the last time in the 20th century the Yankees will fail to get a hit in a game. 1960s *1960 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for Ted Williams, who is forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his ankle and grounds into a double play. On May 31, 1961, Hardy will pinch hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for Roger Maris when both were at Cleveland (May 18, 1958). *1961 - The 155th Yankees game of the season (including a tie) is Roger Maris' last chance to beat the 60 home run mark set by Babe Ruth. In compliance with Commissioner Ford Frick's statement, for the record to be broken Maris must do it in the same number of games as Ruth. Maris' 59th home run of the year, off Jack Fisher, is short of the record, but helps the Yankees beat Baltimore 4-2 to clinch their 26th AL pennant. *1968 - Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees hits the 536th and final home run of his major league career, a solo shot against Jim Lonborg of the Boston Red Sox in a 4-3 loss at Yankee Stadium. *1969 - Bob Moose of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches a 4-0 no-hitter against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. 1970s 1980s *1980: **George Brett of the Kansas City Royals goes 0-for-4 in a 9-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics, to drop his average below .400. He is now hitting .396 and will finish the season at .390. **In memory of Thurman Munson, a bronze plaque in Memorial Park is dedicated to the deceased New York Yankees catcher. *1984 - The San Diego Padres clinch their first NL West title since entering the league in 1969 with a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants. The key blow is winning pitcher Tim Lollar's three-run home run, his third homer of the season. *1986 - Tying the NL record for stolen bases in one game, San Diego Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn swipes five bases as the Houston Astros beat San Diego 10–6. During his 20-year career, the .338 lifetime hitter will only average 16 stolen bases per season. *1988 - Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox becomes the first major leaguer in the 20th century to get 200 hits in six consecutive seasons as Boston pounds the Toronto Blue Jays 13-2. Boggs also joins Lou Gehrig as the only players to get 200 hits and 100 walks in three consecutive years. 1990s *1992 - Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini makes the first unassisted triple play in the NL in 65 years, just the ninth in major league history, in the Phillies' 3-2, 13-inning loss to Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium. Morandini catches Jeff King's line drive, steps on second doubling up Andy Van Slyke and tags Barry Bonds to complete his feat. *1998 - Cal Ripken, Jr. takes himself out of the starting lineup and does not play in the Baltimore Orioles' loss to the New York Yankees, ending his consecutive-game streak at 2,632 games. After nearly 16 years, Ripken said he decided the time was right to end the streak, which began on May 30, 1982. 2000s *2002: **Mike Bordick of the Baltimore Orioles sets a major league record playing his 102nd successive game at shortstop without committing an error. Rey Ordóñez, playing SS for the New York Mets, had established mark from 1999 through 2000. **With a 9-3 victory over the Houston Astros at Busch Stadium, the St Louis Cardinals clinch the NL Central Division title. An emotional on-field celebration includes Albert Pujols carrying Darryl Kile's No. 57 jersey onto the field in tribute of the pitcher who died unexpectedly on June 22. *2003: **Unlike this season when the Montreal Expos played twenty-five percent of its home games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the players vote to play their entire 2004 home schedule in Montreal. The major league owners, who collectively own the franchise, have been considering moving the Expos permanently to Washington D.C., Portland, Oregon or Monterrey, Mexico or continuing the present format by having the team split home games between different locations (Puerto Rico or Mexico and Montreal). **Second baseman Marcus Giles hits a home run off Brad Penny's 3-2 pitch, as the Atlanta Braves tie the NL record by having six players to hit at least 20 home runs in season. Along with Giles, Javy Lopez, Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones and Vinny Castilla equals the mark established by Eddie Mathews (32), Hank Aaron (32), Joe Torre (27), Felipe Alou (23), Mack Jones (31) and Gene Oliver (21) of the 1965 Milwaukee Braves. *2005 - Alex Rodriguez hits his 42nd home run and Robinson Canó erases a four-run deficit with a grand slam, helping Aaron Small and the seven-time defending division winners rally to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-5. Small goes to 8-0, becoming the first pitcher to win his first eight decisions with the Yankees since Doug Bird in 1980 and '81, and New York's fourth straight win continues its strong push in the AL East and wild-card races. Births *1898 - Chuck Dressen, manager (d. 1966) *1908 - Zeke Bonura, infielder (d. 1987) *1937 - Tom Tresh, All-Star outfielder *1960 - Dave Gallagher, outfielder *1970 - Chris Snopek, infielder *1976 - Kevin Walker, pitcher *1978 - Jason Bay, All-Star outfielder Deaths *1919 - Cy Seymour, outfielder (b. 1872) *1937 - Harry Stovey, outfielder (b. 1856)